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Chung, Hyeseung

Publications and source records attributed to Chung, Hyeseung.

Nanoscale Compositional Mapping of Commercial LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 Cathodes Using Atom Probe Tomography

Nickel-rich cathodes provide improved specific capacity that lead to higher gravimetric energy density, critical for electric vehicles. However, poor long-term capacity retention at elevated temperatures/high C-rates (the rate of charge and discharge on a battery) stem from material issues: surface phase changes, corrosive side reactions with the electrolyte, ion dissolution and propagation of cracks. Introducing dopants, developing nanoscale surface coatings and graded core-shell structures have all improved the electrochemical performance of nickel-rich cathodes. However, a material level understanding on the effect of Li composition and distribution in Ni-rich cathodes is limited, due to a lack of characterization methods available that can directly image Li at the nanoscale. Hence, it is critical to establish methods such as atom probe tomography (APT), having both nanometer scale spatial resolution and high compositional sensitivity to quantitatively analyze battery cathodes. To fully realize its potential as a method for quantitative compositional analysis of commercial Li-ion batteries, we provide a comprehensive description of the challenges in sample preparation and analyze the dependency of the analysis parameters, specifically laser pulse energy on the measured stoichiometry of elements in a high Ni content cathode material; LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 (NCA). In this work, our findings show the stoichiometry variations cannot be explained by charge state ratios or Ga implantation damage alone during FIB preparation, indicating that additional factors such as crystallographic orientation may need to be considered to achieve quantitative nanoscale compositional analysis of such battery cathodes using APT.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Nano-Ceramic Cathodes via Co-sputtering of Gd–Ce Alloy and Lanthanum Strontium Cobaltite for Low-Temperature Thin-Film Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

We report the electrochemical performance and structural characteristics of porous nanostructured ceramic cathodes for thin-film solid oxide fuel cells (TF-SOFCs) based on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolytes. The nanostructured cathode is obtained through magnetron co-sputtering of gadolinium–cerium (Gd–Ce) alloy and lanthanum strontium cobaltite perovskite targets. The resultant nanostructure and composition of the ceramic cathode are controlled by adjusting the co-sputtering conditions. The peak power densities in our fabricated TF-SOFCs are the highest reported values for YSZ-based electrolyte SOFCs, showing 0.14, 0.48, 1.21, 2.56, and 3.01 W/cm2 at 450, 500, 550, 600, and 650 °C, respectively, operating under air and pure hydrogen fuel. The results show that the porosity and composition of the cathode greatly affect the resulting peak power densities. This work illustrates the capability of sputtering to produce stable, scalable, nano-ceramic cathodes with superb peak power densities when integrated in TF-SOFCs.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

How Bulk Sensitive is Hard X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy: Accounting for the Cathode–Electrolyte Interface when Addressing Oxygen Redox

Sensitivity to the `bulk' oxygen core orbital makes hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) an appealing technique for studying oxygen redox candidates. Various studies have reported an additional O 1s peak (530-531 eV) at high voltages, which has been considered a direct signature of the bulk oxygen redox process. Here, we find the emergence of a 530.4 eV O 1s HAXPES peak for three model cathodes, Li 2 MnO 3 , Li-rich NMC, and NMC 442, that shows no clear link to oxygen redox. Instead, the 530.4 eV peak for these three systems is attributed to transition metal reduction and electrolyte decomposition in the near-surface region. Claims of oxygen redox relying on photoelectron spectroscopy must explicitly account for the surface sensitivity of this technique and the extent of the cathode degradation layer.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗